Does Perth Need To Start Going Up... Not Out?

Western Australia's capital city must halt urban sprawl and its devotion to mining in order to maintain its high level of liveability, a report has found.

Commissioned by the Property Council, the Creating Great Australian Cities study warns Perth cannot afford to keep expanding but must contain housing and development growth within its current borders.

Lead researcher, urbanist Greg Clark said the recent mining boom had fuelled population growth and building projects but in the bust, the city needed to embrace innovation.

"Although commodities will still be important for Perth for some time to come, the economy is going to have to evolve," Professor Clark said.

"It will need to accommodate its growth within the existing geographical boundaries that it has created if it wants to be affordable and offer the right environment for modern city jobs."

However, Paul didn't necessarily agree that Perth needed to "go up" rather than out.

"You gotta go out," he said on Wednesday. "What family wants to live in a high-rise apartment?"

Paul & Lise butted heads over the issue, but agreed it was an issue of infrastructure.

"Ellenbrook's great," Lise said, "but there's no train line at the moment, they've had problems for ages."

Compared to other commodity-rich cities such as Abu Dhabi, Calgary in Canada and Oslo, Perth rates high in liveability, including environmental quality, health, education and access to services.

It has also rapidly increased its number of globally connected businesses, overtaking Brisbane.

But it has fallen down the ranks as a preferred destination for international students, dropping from 30th place in 2014 to 50th in 2018.

And its lack of suburban transport and shopping hubs made it less attractive to millennials.

However, the report praised the McGowan government's multi-billion dollar Metronet project as an investment in "forward-thinking" planning and encouraged more projects such as the former Liberal governments' Elizabeth Quay and Perth Stadium precincts.

A medium density mix of housing, retail and business, says Professor Clark, will make Perth a liveable city and not just an attractive seaside place to visit.